External Recognition/Initiatives

We are included in the FTSE4Good Index Series, a major global index for socially responsible investment (SRI). The index was developed by FTSE Russell, which belongs to the London Stock Exchange Group. It is widely used as a standard for selecting investees by institutional investors who focus on the social responsibility and sustainability of companies.

Among global SRI indices, we are included in the MSCI ESG Leaders Indexes.
This index suite was developed by a US-based company, MSCI Inc., and selects companies with excellent environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance.

We are included in the Euronext Vigeo Eiris Indices World 120, a representative SRI index.
This index distinguishes 120 companies achieving the most advanced environmental, social and governance performance.

We are included in the S&P/JPX Carbon Efficient Index, which is a environmental index jointly developed by the Japan Exchange Group, the Tokyo Stock Exchange, and the S&P Dow Jones Index.

The Development Bank of Japan (DBJ) developed its own environmental rating system. The investment menu confers an environmental rating after companies are evaluated on their environmental management, outstanding companies are selected, and investment criteria are established based on their score. KDDI acquired the highest rank of A in the ratings. Furthermore, KDDI is the only company in the telecommunications industry that has earned a DBJ Environmental Rating (as of September 2022).

The company was selected as one of the "Digital Transformation Issues (DX Stocks) 2022" by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the Tokyo Stock Exchange. DX Stocks are selected and introduced by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) for each industry category from companies listed on the TSE that have established internal mechanisms to promote DX (Digital Transformation) that leads to increased corporate value and have an excellent track record in the use of digital technology.

We have joined the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), which is advocated by the United Nations.
The KDDI Group endorses the ten principles of the UNGC and will contribute to the "achievement of a truly connected society, the KDDI Group Mission Statement, through efforts to ensure respect for human rights in our business activities, achieve carbon neutrality, and strengthen governance in light of the diversification of our business operations.

The KDDI Group obtained SBT certification under the international Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi). In addition to the CO₂ emissions reduction targets set by KDDI on a non-consolidated basis (in Japan), the KDDI Group as a whole will further promote measures to address climate change by setting new targets. To reduce CO₂ emissions, we will promote energy efficiency and shift to renewable energy for cell phone base stations and telecommunications equipment.

We also support the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures ("TCFD") established by the Financial Stability Board ("FSB"). Based on the TCFD recommendations, we will proactively disclose information on the "risks" and "opportunities" that climate change poses to our business from the four perspectives recommended by the TCFD: governance, strategy, risk management, and metrics and targets.

KDDI received its first climate change "A List" certification, the highest score possible for advanced environment companies, from international environmental not-for-profit charity CDP (December 2022). KDDI was recognized as a global leader for environmental activities, with its initiatives such as target setting, action and transparency in climate change operations being rated.

KDDI has joined the Japan Climate Leaders Partnership (JCLP), a coalition of businesses in Japan that aim to create a carbon-neutral society, built on the idea that decarbonization is essential to economic development.
KDDI endorses the principles of the JCLP and accelerates the transition to a decarbonized society.

On December 2, 2022, KDDI received the Grand Prize of the HR Transformation (HRX) of The Year 2022 award for its "KDDI Version Job Style Personnel System and Other Initiatives for Human Resource-First Company".
HRX of The Year was established in April 2022 by the HR Executive Consortium (President: Yuu Kusuda), an executive network for next-generation human resources, to encourage the promotion of HR transformation in Japanese companies. The purpose of the award is to contribute to the HR transformation of Japanese companies as a whole by publicizing and spreading awareness of outstanding initiatives in the HR field.

On February 20, 2022, KDDI was selected as one of the top 10 companies out of 280 participating companies and organizations in the "Human Capital Survey 2022" (HR Technology Consortium and others), which was conducted among Japanese companies and organizations.
KDDI has positioned the transformation into a "Human Resource-First Company" in which a diverse range of professional human capital plays an active role as one of its key management issues, and is promoting the three-pronged reform of introducing KDDI Version Job Style Personnel System, internal DX, and work style reform. We will continue to evolve our past efforts and implement human capital management by implementing data-driven HR strategies, such as promoting diverse human resource activities and D&I through the penetration of the HR system, improving DX skills of all employees and fostering professional human resources, and improving engagement through the penetration of new work styles.

<Reference>"Human Capital Leaders 2022" announced (external website, in Japanese only)

We were recognized by the Nippon Kenko Kaigi for our outstanding health management initiatives that consider the health of our employees from a management perspective and which are strategically carried out. This led to being recognized as a Health and Productivity Management 2023 company in the large enterprise category (White 500) (as of March 2023). Our group companies, OKINAWA CELLULAR TELEPHONE COMPANY was also recognized as a Health and Productivity Management 2023 company in the large enterprise category (White 500) in 2023.

We received the top gold rating on the PRIDE Index, which evaluates corporate efforts related to LGBTQ+ and other sexual minorities, for seven consecutive years (as of November 2022). The PRIDE Index was established by a private organization, work with Pride, with the aim of promoting the creation of inclusive workplaces for LGBTQ+ in companies.
KDDI has received the Gold Award for the seventh consecutive year since fiscal 2016 in recognition of its ongoing efforts, including the "Family Partnership Application," which was introduced in June 2020 to treat children of same-sex partners as "family members" under the company's internal system, as well as the awareness-raising education and events held within KDDI.

KDDI was recognized as a 5-star company for the third consecutive year in the 6th Nikkei Smart Work Management Survey (November 2022), which selects leading companies taking on the challenge of productivity revolution through work style reforms. The survey, which has been conducted by Nikkei Inc. since 2017, targets listed companies and leading non-listed companies nationwide, and defines "smart work management" as efforts to maximize organizational performance through three elements: the realization of diverse and flexible work styles, a system for creating new businesses, and the ability to develop markets. In addition to the three elements, corporate governance and other management foundations are also included in the evaluation, which is based on a five-star scale. Of the 813 companies that responded to the 6th survey, KDDI received high ratings in innovation capability and market development capabilities.

The Nikkei SDGs Management Survey, conducted by Nikkei Inc. since 2019, defines "SDGs Management" as efforts to contribute to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through business and enhance corporate value, and evaluates companies based on four perspectives: SDG strategy and economic value, social value, environmental value, and governance. The fourth annual survey was conducted by 886 companies in Japan. In the fourth survey, 886 companies responded, and KDDI received high marks in "SDG Strategic and Economic Value" and "Social Value," and was certified with 4.5 stars for the third consecutive year.